Victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shootings will be eligible to receive Purple Hearts and combat injury benefits under a provision included in the latest defense authorization deal.

The measure is expected to be approved by Congress next week, and would end a five-year quest by Texas lawmakers to get battlefield recognition for the soldiers killed in the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in U.S. history.

It could also be a financial windfall for the families of the 13 people killed and 32 wounded in the attack.

The latest authorization draft stipulates that Purple Heart medals will be awarded to "members of the armed forces killed or wounded in domestic attacks inspired by foreign terrorist organizations."

The Fort Hood, Texas, shooter — Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan — was allegedly inspired by al-Qaida but faced murder charges rather than international terrorism charges. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Pentagon officials for years have said the shooting victims are not eligible for the Purple Heart and certain combat-injury compensation. Families of the victims have said they've faced thousands of dollars in uncovered medical expenses that would have been covered if the same injuries occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The new Purple Heart regulations would change that, allowing defense officials to review the cases and award both the medal and the benefits to the Fort Hood victims as well as victims of similar domestic attacks.

House members have included the Purple Heart changes in their annual defense budget bills each of the last five years, but Pentagon and Senate leaders have blocked the moves. Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, who helped lead the push, said the new language was crafted with Senate cooperation and input from the military.

"This is finally going to be a recognition for their losses and injuries," he said. "For many of these soldiers, that medal is going to mean the most. They feel like they were attacked by the enemy. It just happened at their base, instead of overseas."

Regulations regarding who gets a Purple Heart — traditionally limited to those wounded in combat — have been debated in recent years amid ambiguity surrounding domestic attacks.

Troops injured at the Pentagon in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, received it. Two Army recruiters shot by a radicalized Muslim outside of a recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, in June 2009 did not.

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Survivors and relatives of those who died in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting filed a formal petition Wednesday to receive Purple Hearts and other benefits they have argued are long overdue.

More than five years after an Army psychiatrist opened fire on dozens of unarmed soldiers and killed 13 people, many survivors struggle to find jobs or support themselves. Congress approved new regulations in December aimed at forcing the U.S. Department of Defense to reconsider Fort Hood victims for the Purple Heart.

Wednesday's petition aims to start that process. Lawyers for a large group of victims and family members entered the petition in an ongoing federal lawsuit they filed against the Defense Department seeking damages due to the attack.

Military officials have denied the award to Fort Hood victims, calling the November 2009 attack an act of workplace violence, not terrorism. Advocates for the victims have pointed to gunman Nidal Hasan's attempts to contact a cleric that authorities have linked to al-Qaida, as well as statements Hasan made before and after the attack calling himself a "soldier of Allah" fighting America.

Hasan was convicted in August 2013 and sentenced to death.

The petition names the victims of the attack and describes each survivor's injuries and financial struggles.

Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning, shot six times by Hasan, still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and severe pain, according to the petition. Sgt. Rex Stalnaker, who helped pull soldiers to safety and was deployed to Afghanistan soon afterward, is "70 percent disabled and unemployable," the petition says.

It will likely take at least several months for the Defense Department to decide on the request. If approved, some victims and their families could receive hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of payments and added benefits, though others would receive smaller amounts based on the severity of their injuries, said Reed Rubinstein, a Washington-based attorney for a large group of victims and family members.

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An Army investigative report on the April 2014 mass shooting at Fort Hood concludes there were no clear warning signs that commanders could have acted on to prevent the shooting, but also calls for better communication between units, Army medical facilities and between leaders and their soldiers.

Fort Hood spokesman Col. Christopher Garver said the Army post is evaluating and implementing the report’s recommendations.

“Fort Hood officials remain committed to doing what’s necessary to ensure the safety and security of all personnel on Fort Hood,” Garver said.

On April 2, 2014, Spc. Ivan López killed three of his fellow soldiers and wounded 16 others before killing himself.

A month before the rampage, a psychiatrist examined López, who had complained of a traumatic brain injury, and concluded he showed “no sign of likely violence,” according to Secretary of the Army.

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FORT WORTH - Fort Hood officials say there were no clear warning signs before a soldier went on a rampage last April that left four dead and 16 wounded, according to a U.S. Army report released Friday.

There was no indication that Spc. Ivan Lopez would go on a two-block shooting spree before killing himself on April 2, the report concluded. It also said the chain of command would have had difficulty recognizing any personal problems leading up to the attack, because risk assessment relies on self-reporting and Lopez had been dishonest with his supervisors.

"In the absence of a system capable of identifying (Lopez) as a threat, and because the unit was unaware and unable to address the variety of stressors in (Lopez's) life, Fort Hood was not able to prevent the shooting," lead investigator Lt. Gen. Joseph E. Martz said in the report.

No single factor prompted the incident, the report said, despite Army investigators' previous findings that Lopez had been in an argument over a leave request.

Investigators have said the 34-year-old Iraq War veteran was undergoing treatment for depression and anxiety while being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder, but was not considered "likely" to commit violence.

He had recently lost two family members and faced financial difficulties, officials said. A spokesman for Lopez's family said in April that he was upset he was granted only a 24-hour leave - which was extended to two days - to attend his mother's funeral in Puerto Rico. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Donald Peters said it is "absolutely untrue" that he was granted only a day's leave, instead getting six days' leave.

The report said the deaths and financial problems could have had a cumulative effect on Lopez's emotional state.

"Since risk assessment tools depend on self-reporting, they are subject to the Soldier's willingness to identify risk factors accurately," the report said, adding that Lopez could sometimes be "misleading or deceptive."

The Army previously said it was logistically impossible to stop and search all 80,000 people who work on the sprawling base every day.

Recommendations in the report, for which more than 160 witnesses were interviewed, included exploring whether soldiers should register privately owned weapons with their commanders. Lopez flashed his badge to enter the base April 2 and carried out the shooting with .45-caliber Smith and Wesson that was not registered with the Army base.

Lopez's shooting occurred nearly five years after Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan gunned down 13 people at a medical readiness building at Fort Hood. Hasan carried a high-powered pistol and several cartridges of ammunition into the building under his green Army fatigues and opened fire for several minutes.

An FBI review found that authorities missed several messages Hasan had sent to a Yemen-based cleric tied to terrorist activity. Evidence presented at his trial two years ago included testimony that he had trained to quickly fire the pistol at a nearby gun range.

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FORT HOOD (January 23, 2015) A post-trial hearing is scheduled Jan. 29 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in the case of Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who was sentenced to death for the Nov. 5, 2009 massacre at Fort Hood.

Hasan was sent to the military’s death row at Fort Leavenworth after he was convicted of killing 13 and wounding more than 30 in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center.

Military Judge Col Tara Osborn, who presided over Hasan’s court-martial, called the Article 39a hearing to review matters including post-trial rights, the trial record and post-trial representation for Hasan, whose mandatory appeals have not yet started.

Article 39a sessions are used to deal with matters much as sidebar conferences outside of the presence of the jury are used in civilian courts.

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FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The gunman who killed 13 people at a Texas military base in 2009 appeared in court Thursday without the beard he had fought to keep and said he wanted to keep his lead appeals lawyer. A change of counsel could complicate an already delayed review process.

Nidal Hasan appeared in court at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he is being held on the military death row. He no longer has the beard he wore during his August 2013 trial, where he was convicted and sentenced to death for a November 2009 rampage inside a medical readiness building at Fort Hood in Central Texas.

A Fort Hood spokesman confirmed Hasan’s beard had been forcibly shaved according to military guidelines.

Nearly 18 months after his conviction, Hasan has not yet had his case reviewed by top Fort Hood officials, as required in the military criminal justice system. If Fort Hood’s commanding general approves Hasan’s death sentence, he would then receive two mandatory reviews by military appellate courts and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.

While he represented himself at trial, Hasan’s appeals are being handled by a team led by Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, who has been named a military judge. In his new position, Poppe is subordinate to Col. Tara Osborn, Hasan’s trial judge, who is now the chief trial judge of the Army.

Osborn on Thursday questioned whether Poppe could keep handling Hasan’s appeals, a position that requires him to try to find mistakes with Osborn’s handling of the trial.

“My concern is Maj. Hasan’s defense counsel now works for the trial judge,” she said.

But Hasan told Osborn after conferring with another defense lawyer privately that he wanted to keep his counsel in place.

“I do not want you to substitute someone else for Col. Poppe,” said Hasan, who appeared alert in court and at one point laughed softly with his lawyers during a break.

Poppe argued he could handle both positions.

“I believe there’s not even a smidgen of concern about full representation of Maj. Hasan,” he said. “The two can be reconciled.”

Osborn asked the prosecution and the defense to state their positions in writing by next week.

Osborn ordering Poppe off the case could create grounds for a challenge by the next attorney to lead Hasan’s appeals, said Geoffrey Corn, a military law expert who teaches at South Texas College of Law.

Corn said the post-trial process for Hasan was taking much longer than a typical military case. But, he added, “That has been the unifying theme of everything in this case. Nothing has been routine.”

One unordinary hiccup was Hasan’s now-shaved beard. Hasan insisted on keeping the beard at trial in what he said was an expression of his Muslim faith. The judge on his case before Osborn was removed from the case by a military appeals court after he tried to order Hasan to be forcibly shaved.

Osborn allowed Hasan to keep the beard despite it violating Army grooming rules.

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bill is in the hopper at the state Capitol that would award the Texas Purple Heart to the Fort Hood shooting victims of Nidal Hassan.

Leading the effort is State Rep. Tony Dale of Cedar Park.

“This attack was first listed as ‘workplace violence’, and I thought it was important to honor the folks that were injured and killed there at Fort Hood in what was clearly a terrorist attack with this award,” said Dale.

After more than five years, Dale is frustrated at the slow federal response in handing out to Fort Hood victims who are eligible for Purple Hearts.

“I thought that we could perhaps push the federal government a little bit by taking the lead here in Texas and trying to award the Texas Purple Heart,” said Dale.

The President signed a Defense Appropriations Bill on Dec. 19, 2014, which authorized the federal Fort Hood Heroes Act. But the Pentagon is still in the process of reviewing applications for the Purple Heart.

Dale said this is about Texans honoring Texans that were serving here in Texas that were killed and wounded in the 2009 shooting.

“If you ask a family member of someone who lost anyone, they’ll tell you they just don’t want you to forget who their loved one was,” said Leila Hunt Willingham, sister to one of the murdered soldiers.

With 79 cosponsors for his bill, the measure to approve the Texas Purple Hearts is virtually guaranteed to pass. The medal, rich in symbolism, would go to all victims, not just those from Texas.

“The Texas Purple Heart Medal of course has a purple ribbon, there’s a heart that hangs below it that is gold, and has the Alamo displayed on the medal, as well as the Lone Star with the wreath around it,” said Dale.

Dale’s bill has a special number, HB 115. It’s a reminder of the date of the murders, Nov. 5.lies.

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" Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Moynihan

Nearly 50 survivors and family members of those killed in the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting massacre at Fort Hood will be awarded Purple Hearts on Friday morning at a ceremony at the Army post’s III Corps headquarters.

About 1,000 soldiers and civilians are expected to attend the event, including Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and U.S. Reps. John Carter, Bill Flores, Roger Williams, Michael McCaul and Louie Gohmert.

Fort Hood officials will issue 47 medals, including Defense of Freedom Medals for civilian victims and posthumous Purple Hearts. Most of the survivors of the attack are expected to attend, although Fort Hood did not provide a list of attendees Thursday.

The medal ceremony represents the culmination of more than five years of struggle to obtain Purple Hearts and is the result of a Department of Defense rule change pushed largely by the Texas congressional delegation.

The Purple Hearts will give victims enhanced hiring benefits and combat-related special compensation upon retirement, and will make them eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

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EXCLUSIVE -The Obama administration has finally acknowledged that those hurt and killed in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings were victims of terrorism -- and not “workplace violence,” as it was previously described. But while formal recognition of that is set for Friday, when victims will receive the Purple Heart, it may only be symbolic.

Fox News has learned as part of its ongoing investigation of the 2009 terrorist attack that the military, at least in one case, is still denying benefits for injuries sustained in the attack.

"I think it's almost unheard of for someone to receive the Purple Heart but not have their injuries deemed combat-related," Shawn Manning, who was seriously injured in the 2009 attack, told Fox News. "I know that was not what Congress intended to have happen, but it is what currently the Army has determined is going to happen."

On Nov. 5, 2009, then-Staff Sgt. Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan. Two bullets are still in his body -- one in his leg, the other in his back -- and he suffers from PTSD.

The 2015 defense budget -- known as the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA -- included language that meant Fort Hood victims were eligible for the Purple Heart honor because the attack was inspired by a foreign terrorist group, and not workplace violence, as the Defense Department initially labeled it.

Manning submitted new paperwork so the Army would recognize his injuries were sustained in the line of duty. But his appeal was rejected by a physical evaluation board, apparently based on a narrow interpretation of the law.

"Section 571 of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act addresses both the awarding of the Purple Heart to service members killed or wounded in attacks inspired or motivated by foreign terrorist organizations and the Defense of Freedom Medal for those members and civilians killed or wounded during the Fort Hood attack on 5 November 20009," the April 6 letter states.

"Nowhere in the act, however, does it offer combat benefits for service members permanently disabled in attacks inspired or motivated by foreign terrorist organizations. Although subsequent and guidance may change, currently, the Board has no authority to award V1/V3 (service related) designation to soldiers disabled during the Fort Hood attack. "

Manning said, “it's a great thing to finally be recognized, to stand up there and say, ‘Hey your sacrifice did mean something.’”

But he said the board’s decision means, on a practical level, his family will lose back pay, and $800 a month in benefits, adding he believes other Fort Hood survivors will face the same treatment. “I think you know it's a huge let-down. I hope that's not what the Army had intended to do."More...

Video at link

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" Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Moynihan

On November 5th 2009 Army psychiatrist Nidal Hassan walked into a medical readiness center at the post, shouted "god is great" in Arabic and opened fire killing 12 soldiers, a civilian and an unborn child...dozens others injured.

At first the shooting was classified as workplace violence. Victims couldn't receive Purple Hearts.

"You wonder 'Where's the respect?' Where's the recognition? Where is the support for what you've gone through and what you're continuously going through," said SSG Eric Jackson.

Recently the incident was re-classified as terrorism. So Friday morning 44 medals...Purple Hearts and Defense of Freedom were handed to victims and their families. Some were there to accept the medals. Others never made it home that day in 2009.

Among the lawmakers in attendance -- Governor Gregg Abbott.

"It's a shame that we have military men and women who fight for our freedoms overseas against terrorism only to come home and be the victims of terrorism on their own bases," Abbott said.

Senator Ted Cruz, standing with other lawmakers, said the fight isn't over. The Purple Heart recipients are not yet getting the full benefits they deserve.

"Full benefits. Every benefit to which they are entitled. On this question the congressional delegation is united and we have received personal assurances from the secretary of the army that the benefits question will be resolved," Cruz said.

This morning large framed photos of those who lost their lives that day watched over the very moving ceremony. Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford felt their presence.

"Yesterday I went to the SRP site. And there was a calmness that was there. Today in overcast weather, the 14 that we lost...they are here. They are here," Lunsford said.

Major Nidal Hassan was found guilty on 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He's still awaiting execution.

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FORT HOOD (May 23, 2015) The family of an Army Reservist from Milwaukee who was killed in the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage has been presented with a posthumous Purple Heart.

An overflow crowd of family, friends, veterans, service members, medical personnel and patients honored Russell Seager on Friday at the Milwaukee VA Medical Clinic as a three-star general presented the medal to his family.

Fort Hood victims originally did not qualify for the Purple Heart because the killings were deemed an act of workplace violence.

But through the efforts of victims, families and others, Congress changed the eligibility rule this year.

Seager, 51, was a Milwaukee VA nurse practitioner who was headed to Afghanistan with an Army Reserve combat stress unit

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It has been six years since former Army Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 and wounded more than 30 others at Fort Hood, and more than two years since he was sentenced to death for his role in one of America’s worst mass shootings.But a prominent local defense attorney who has represented Hasan in civil court said if residents of Fort Hood and Central Texas are anxiously awaiting Hasan’s execution, they may be waiting indefinitely.“Is the death penalty in this case going to be sustained on appeal?” asked John P. Galligan, a criminal defense attorney of more than 30 years in Belton. “I say, probably not.”Galligan said the transcripts of Hasan’s trial must be authenticated and approved before Hasan’s case can be automatically appealed by his defense team, who would then have the opportunity to study the trial, point out any perceived mistakes in the process and to ask for clemency.In a statement from Fort Hood on Thursday, Army officials confirmed that the court case still needs to be reviewed by the convening authority, which is the post commander."Several steps of the post-trial process must occur prior to action by the general court-martial convening authority. These steps include authentication of the record by the military judge, review by the staff judge advocate, and potential submission of clemency matters by the accused. The current General Court-Martial Convening Authority is Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland. The completed record has not been forwarded to the convening authority and may be presented to him or any successor in command without restarting the post-trial process," Fort Hood officials said.Galligan, who is working to represent Hasan in the appeals process, said there are more than a few legal matters that could be problematic for the Army in how it handled Hasan’s trial.“He was effectively foreclosed of any meaningful opportunity to testify,” Galligan said. “The judge told him pretrial he wasn’t going to allow him to argue or present evidence on this business about defense of thirds.”The defense of thirds, Galligan said, is likely referring to Hasan’s perception that his murderous actions that day might save the lives of civilians in the Middle East.“His intent in this would have been to save the lives of Iraqi children and people that were being bombed,” Galligan said.Also, the Army refused to pay for a physiologist who could have evaluated the crippling injuries Hasan suffered after he himself was shot and who should have been able to testify as such, according to Galligan.“If a jury had been at least presented with those things, I think there would have at least been a possibility” that Hasan could have been granted life in prison instead of the death penalty, Galligan said.Since taking Hasan’s case, Galligan said life has been difficult.“We had threats here when that case started,” Galligan said. “You should listen to some of the voicemails that came into this office. I had to make sure doors were locked. It wasn’t nice at all. But that kind of comes with the territory. I’ve remained committed to his cause since day one. I still keep in touch with his family members.”It was that strong and toxic public opinion along with politics, Galligan said, that could eventually bring about the reversal of Hasan’s death sentence.“The bank wouldn’t even cash his checks,” Galligan said.“They wouldn’t take his checks because they knew who he was. I joke with people who ask me if Hasan got a fair trial at Fort Hood. He couldn’t even get a bank account at Fort Hood, much less a fair trial.”

Nidal Hassan is a terrorist and he is still alive, wasting oxygen imo.

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" Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Moynihan

Six years after the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood, at least one victim is still fighting for overdue benefits.Former Fort Hood Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford Jr. said “pain, betrayal, disrespect and patriotism” all come to mind when he thinks about that tragic day.“It’s a lot. It’s really a lot that goes through my head,” Lunsford said Tuesday.He was shot seven times by Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who opened fire on unsuspecting fellow soldiers at a Fort Hood medical processing building for deploying soldiers.Six years later, the building has been torn down. Many of the soldiers who were there have since moved on — either no longer in Army or stationed elsewhere.Hasan, an Army major at the time of the shooting, was found guilty of killing 12 soldiers and one civilian on Aug. 23, 2013, following a 12-day court-martial at Fort Hood. Days later, he was sentenced to die and is currently on death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., awaiting automatic appeals.The victims’ long fight for benefits came to a significant turning point earlier this year when the victims were awarded Purple Hearts — a medal traditionally awarded for combat-related injuries. The Purple Hearts signified a reversalof sorts for the Defense Department, which until then had classified the shooting as workplace violence.Receiving the Purple Hearts “was well-deserved,” Lunsford said.“It was a good fight. We won that battle, so I’m thankful for that.”But the award doesn’t erase the tragedy today’s anniversary marks. For Lunsford, the memories remain.“It won’t make it easier,” he said.‘Holding pattern’Now living in North Carolina, Lunsford is still fighting some of the battles that began six years ago. He said he’s still waiting on back pay for the combat-related special compensation the Department of Veterans Affairs owes him as a result of injuries suffered in the shooting, and also feels he’s “in a holding pattern” waiting to find out when he, along with other shooting victims, will receive the Texas Purple Heart award.A bill approved by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in May allowed for all the soldiers or former service members who received a federal Purple Heart from the Nov. 5, 2009, shooting to also be awarded a Texas Purple Heart, a ceremonial medal that does not carry any added benefits, state officials said Wednesday.A spokesman for Abbott’s office said there was a plan to award the state Purple Hearts today, but that plan was postponed after Killeen city officials asked the state government to delay the ceremony.“First, they said they were going to bring us down there because the state was going to give us a Purple Heart, then they said they weren’t. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on,” Lunsford said.Killeen spokeswoman Hilary Shine confirmed Wednesday the city has been working with the governor’s office on the Texas Purple Heart ceremony, but it’s been delayed because of ongoing construction of the Fort Hood Shooting Memorial in Killeen, which honors the 13 people who died.“We want the family members of the victims and the victims who live out of state to have an opportunity to come to see the memorial and receive their (Texas) Purple Heart,” she said. “So, we’re working with the governor’s office on a date that will accommodate both ceremonies.”Shine said the city thinks there will be better attendance if the two ceremonies are rolled into one event.“Originally, the hope was that we could do both on Nov. 5 (today). ... But the construction would not be complete at that time,” Shine said.Now, the tentative date for the ribbon-cutting of the memorial and the presentation of the Texas Purple Hearts is March 11.More...

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" Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Moynihan

FORT HOOD - Today marks the seventh anniversary of the tragic Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people and wounded 30 others. People around the nation are pausing to remember those that were lost on this grave day.

Flowers were laid on the memorial site in Killeen early this morning by committee members. The site honors the memories of the 12 soldiers and one civilian that were lost.

Just last year the living victims and family members of those lost were presented with Purple Hearts and Secretary of Defense Medals for the Defense of Freedom. The memoriam site was then dedicated in their honor.

The memorial can be found between the Killeen Civic and Conference Center and the Shilo Inn on 3700 South W.S. Young Drive. The site includes a gazebo, 13 statutes of the brave souls lost and an American Flag waving over all.

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" Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." - Daniel Moynihan